| sperm ultrastructure of the honey bee (apis mellifera) (l) (hymenoptera, apidae) with emphasis on the nucleus-flagellum transition region. | the flagellum of apis mellifera (hymenoptera, apidae) consists of two mitochondrial derivatives, an axoneme and two accessory bodies. the mitochondrial derivatives are of unequal size and lie parallel to the axoneme. in the larger derivative four regions can be distinguished while in the smaller, only three. the region occurring only in the larger derivative consists of paracystalline material. the smaller mitochondrial derivative terminates anterior to the larger one. an extremely long centriol ... | 2000 | 11145015 |
| garden sharing and garden stealing in fungus-growing ants. | fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (attini: formicidae) are passed on between generations by transfer from maternal to offspring nest (vertical transmission within ant species). however, recent phylogenetic analyses revealed that cultivars are occasionally also transferred between attine species. the reasons for such lateral cultivar transfers are unknown. to investigate whether garden loss may induce ants to obtain a replacement cultivar from a neighboring colony (lateral cultivar transfer ... | 2000 | 11151668 |
| sex, age and ovarian activity affect cuticular hydrocarbons in diacamma ceylonense, a queenless ant. | in the queenless ant, diacamma ceylonense, the cuticular hydrocarbons (c25-c35) of nestmate workers vary in their proportions according to age and fertility. newly eclosed adults ('callows') initially have the same cuticular profile, but with time this changes to that typical of foragers. in contrast, workers that begin to produce eggs develop a different cuticular profile. several substances (n-c29 and some methyl c25 and c27) discriminate these different social categories (callows, foragers an ... | 2001 | 11166313 |
| cloning of the 16-kda v-atpase proteolipid subunit from the red imported fire ant solenopsis invicta buren (hymenoptera: formicidae). | v-atpases are ubiquitous proton pumps found in eukaryotes, and are important in regulating the ph of cell compartments and in creating membrane potentials. the v-atpase creates a proton gradient that is used as an energy source for the transport of other ions. the 16-kda proteolipid is the proton-translocating subunit c of v-atpases. using pcr methods, we have cloned the fire ant 16-kda subunit c, providing the first molecular characterization of this protein in a social insect. northern blot an ... | 2000 | 11169750 |
| dynamic optimization of fed-batch bioreactors using the ant algorithm. | the ant colony algorithm, mimicking the cooperative search behavior of ants in real life, has been employed for the dynamic optimization of fed-batch bioreactors. to test the capability of this new heuristic algorithm, two well-known and extensively studied systems have been chosen. the algorithm rapidly converges to optimal feed rate profiles, which maximize the overall production of the desired product and the profits in a computationally efficient and robust manner. the optimal profiles evolv ... | 2001 | 11170484 |
| monophyly and extensive extinction of advanced eusocial bees: insights from an unexpected eocene diversity. | advanced eusociality sometimes is given credit for the ecological success of termites, ants, some wasps, and some bees. comprehensive study of bees fossilized in baltic amber has revealed an unsuspected middle eocene (ca. 45 million years ago) diversity of eusocial bee lineages. advanced eusociality arose once in the bees with significant post-eocene losses in diversity, leaving today only two advanced eusocial tribes comprising less than 2% of the total bee diversity, a trend analogous to that ... | 2001 | 11172007 |
| agro-predation: usurpation of attine fungus gardens by megalomyrmex ants. | a new ant species of megalomyrmex conducts mass raids to usurp gardens of the fungus-growing ant cyphomyrmex longiscapus, then lives in the gardens and consumes the cultivated fungus. unlike attine ants, however, megalomyrmex sp. does not forage for substrate to manure the gardens; therefore, when gardens become depleted, megalomyrmex sp. must locate and usurp new gardens. megalomyrmex sp. workers feed their larvae with attine brood, but only after removing the fungal mycelium that covers the at ... | 2000 | 11198197 |
| low chitinase activity in acacia myrmecophytes: a potential trade-off between biotic and chemical defences? | we determined chitinase activity in leaves of four myrmecophytic and four non-myrmecophytic leguminous species at the plants' natural growing sites in mexico. myrmecophytic plants (or 'ant plants') have obligate mutualisms with ants protecting them against herbivores and pathogenic fungi. plant chitinases can be considered a reliable measure of plant resistance to pathogenic fungi. the myrmecophytic acacia species, which were colonised by mutualistic ants, exhibited at least six-fold lower level ... | 2000 | 11198198 |
| communal peeing: a new mode of flood control in ants. | the behavioral response of the obligate bamboo-nesting ant cataulacus muticus to nest flooding was studied in a perhumid tropical rainforest in malaysia and in the laboratory. the hollow internodes of giant bamboo, in which c. muticus exclusively nests, are prone to flooding by heavy rains. the ants showed a two-graded response to flooding. during heavy rain workers block the nest entrances with their heads to reduce water influx. however, rainwater may still intrude into the nest chamber. the a ... | 2000 | 11198200 |
| a novel method for building regression tree models for qsar based on artificial ant colony systems. | among the multitude of learning algorithms that can be employed for deriving quantitative structure-activity relationships, regression trees have the advantage of being able to handle large data sets, dynamically perform the key feature selection, and yield readily interpretable models. a conventional method of building a regression tree model is recursive partitioning, a fast greedy algorithm that works well in many, but not all, cases. this work introduces a novel method of data partitioning b ... | 2001 | 11206370 |
| effect of red wood ants on carabid behavior: experimental studies at the individual level. | | 2000 | 11211515 |
| systematic analysis of oxidative degradation of polysaccharides using page and hplc--ms. | oxidation of polysaccharides yields hydroxyaldehydes and hydroxycarboxylic acids. aldehydes and carboxylic acids were separately conjugated to 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (ants) or tyrosine t-butyl ester (tbt). the ants-labeled derivatives were separated by molecular size on page gels and detected by fluorescence. tbt-labeled derivatives were separated by reverse phase chromatography on a c18-hplc column and analyzed by positive ion electrospray mass spectroscopy (hplc--ms). this c ... | 2001 | 11217956 |
| lethal and sublethal effects of bendiocarb, halofenozide, and imidacloprid on harpalus pennsylvanicus (coleoptera: carabidae) following different modes of exposure in turfgrass. | routes by which nontarget predatory insects can be exposed to turfgrass pesticides include topical, residual, and dietary exposure. we used each of these routes to evaluate potential lethal or sublethal effects of two novel turfgrass insecticides, imidacloprid and halofenozide, and a carbamate, bendiocarb, on survival, behavior, and fecundity of the ground beetle harpalus pennsylvanicus degeer. field-collected carabids were exposed to direct spray applications in turf plots, fed food contaminate ... | 2001 | 11233134 |
| ecological benefits of myrmecochory for the endangered chaparral shrub fremontodendron decumbens (sterculiaceae). | fremontodendron decumbens grows in a single county in central california, usa. prior research showed that its elaiosome-bearing seeds are dispersed by the harvester ant messor andrei. i tested several hypotheses regarding the positive role of ant-mediated dispersal to f. decumbens: (1) does ant-mediated seed dispersal facilitate seed escape from rodent predation?; (2) does ant processing of seeds stimulate germination?; (3) are ant middens more suitable microsites for seed or seedling survival i ... | 2001 | 11222246 |
| impact of four insecticides on japanese beetle (coleoptera: scarabaeidae) egg predators and white grubs in turfgrass. | field experiments were conducted to measure the effects of four commonly used turfgrass insecticides (isofenphos, diazinon, imidacloprid, halofenozide) on white grubs (coleoptera: scarabaeidae) and ant predators of white grub eggs. ant populations were measured over time with canned tuna, whereas predation by the ants was measured with artificially placed japanese beetle, popillia japonica newman, eggs. the effectiveness of each insecticide at controlling japanese beetle grubs, when applied at d ... | 2001 | 11233105 |
| mating behaviour of rhytidoponera sp. 12 ants inferred from microsatellite analysis. | in the queenless ponerine ant rhytidoponera sp. 12, all workers have a spermatheca and functional ovaries and are potentially able to mate and reproduce. within a colony gamergates may either be full sisters to each other (type 1 colony), or they may not be full sisters but still be significantly related to each other (type 2 colony) due to daughter gamergates reproducing in their natal colonies after mating. despite many studies the mating behaviour of r. sp. 12 has been poorly understood. in t ... | 2001 | 11251795 |
| characterization of vitellogenin in the red imported fire ant, solenopsis invicta (hymenoptera: apocrita: formicidae). | vitellin (vn) and vitellogenin (vg) profiles were analyzed in monogyne and polygyne colonies of the red imported fire ant, solenopsis invicta. non-denaturing and sds-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (page) analyses indicated that the native vn was likely 350 kda and comprised of two subunits in the molecular size range of 170-185 kda. sds-page of hemolymph showed that the relative mobilities and subunit patterns of vg and vn were similar. vg was present in the hemolymph of reproductive queens; ... | 2001 | 11249942 |
| arthropods as predators of ticks (ixodoidea). | the existing information on arthropods as predators of ticks is based mainly on sporadic observations and their role in reducing tick populations and in most cases is still not clear. some reports suggest that in certain ecological habitats arthropods play an important role in the control of the tick population. this publication reports on some 100 relevant publications that appeared between 1906 and 1999. ants, beetles, and spiders seem to be the major arthropods preying on ticks. in general, e ... | 2001 | 11268678 |
| ants in space? | | 2001 | 11287264 |
| food-plant niche selection rather than the presence of ant nests explains oviposition patterns in the myrmecophilous butterfly genus maculinea. | it has been suggested that the socially parasitic butterfly maculinea alcon detects ant odours before ovipositing on initial larval food plants near colonies of its obligate ant host myrmica ruginodis. it has also been suggested that overcrowding on food plants near m. ruginodis is avoided by an ability to detect high egg loads, resulting in a switch to selecting plants near less suitable ant species. if confirmed, this hypothesis (h1) would have serious implications for the application of curre ... | 2001 | 11296858 |
| preliminary study on genetic variability of dicrocoelium dendriticum determined by random amplified polymorphic dna. | genetic variability of adult specimens of dicrocoelium dendriticum has been studied using random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd). the worms were collected from the infected livers of different sheep from several localities in león province (nw spain). dna fragments were amplified by means of decamer primer oligonucleotides of arbitrary sequence. some primers produce complex and highly variable patterns of amplified dna in d. dendriticum. intra- and inter-population genetic variability of adult ... | 1999 | 11269322 |
| responses of the ant lasius niger to various compounds perceived as sweet in humans: a structure-activity relationship study. | a behavioural study on the ant lasius niger was performed by observing its feeding responses to 85 compounds presented in a two-choice situation (tested compound versus water control or sucrose solution). among these compounds, only 21 were phagostimulating: six monosaccharides (d-glucose, 6-deoxy-d-glucose, l-galactose, l-fucose, d-fructose, l-sorbose), four derivatives of d-glucose (methyl alpha-d-glucoside, d-gluconolactone and 6-chloro- and 6-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose), five disaccharides (sucr ... | 2001 | 11287382 |
| demographic mechanisms for the evolution of long life in social insects. | one of the most remarkable life history traits of many species of eusocial insects is the extraordinary longevity of their queens, with the recorded life span of some individuals exceeding 30 years. surprisingly, little research has been conducted on either the proximate or ultimate questions concerning what factors favor the evolution of the long life spans in social insects. the broad objective of this paper is to address four sets of questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in ... | 2001 | 11295510 |
| colony structure of a slavemaking ant. i. intracolony relatedness, worker reproduction, and polydomy. | colony and population structure of the obligate slavemaker ant protomognathus americanus was analyzed via four nuclear microsatellite loci and mitochondrial dna (mtdna) markers. colonies of p. americanus usually contain a single queen, and here we show that she is singly inseminated. nestmate workers are generally full sisters and their relatedness does not deviate from the expected value of 0.75. even though colonies were strictly monogynous, we were able to infer that colony takeover by relate ... | 2001 | 11308088 |
| steric stabilization of fusogenic liposomes by a low-ph sensitive peg--diortho ester--lipid conjugate. | we describe the synthesis and characterization of a ph-sensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-diortho ester-distearoyl glycerol conjugate (pod). pod was prepared by a one-step synthesis, and its acid sensitivity characterized by tlc. the conjugate was found to be stable at neutral ph for greater than 3 h but degraded completely within 1 h at ph 5. liposomes composed of 10% of pod and 90% of a fusogenic lipid, dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (dope) were readily prepared and remained stable for up to 1 ... | 2001 | 11312691 |
| colony disassociation following diet partitioning in a unicolonial ant. | discriminating nestmates from alien conspecifics via chemical cues is recognized as a critical element in maintaining the integrity of insect societies. we determined, in laboratory experiments, that nestmate recognition in an introduced population of the argentine ant, linepithema humile, is modified by hydrocarbons acquired from insect prey, and that workers from spatially isolated colony fragments, each provided with prey that possessed distinct cuticular hydrocarbons, displayed aggressive be ... | 2001 | 11320891 |
| structure of alkaloid 275a, a novel 1-azabicyclo[5.3.0]decane from a dendrobatid frog, dendrobates lehmanni: synthesis of the tetrahydrodiastereomers. | the principal alkaloid 275a in skins of the colombian poison frog dendrobates lehmanni has been identified as the pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepane (1), the first occurrence in nature of this "izidine" system. tetrahydro-1 proved identical to one of the four synthetic diastereomers, 2a--2d, thereby establishing that 1 has the 5z,10e relative stereochemistry. alkaloid 1 is often accompanied by other congeners, in particular a 5z,10z diastereomer 15, a dihydro analogue 16, and a ketone 17. such izidines in fr ... | 2001 | 11325220 |
| acceptance and intake of gel and liquid sucrose compositions by the argentine ant (hymenoptera: formicidae). | liquids and gels are common delivery forms used in commercial ant baits, but the relative effectiveness of each is unknown. we compared the feeding responses of the argentine ant, linepithema humile (mayr), to liquid and gel compositions of sucrose. in choice assays, more workers were counted on gel than liquid; however, substantially more liquid was consumed. because workers could stand on the gel, more workers could feed simultaneously on the gel. the feeding bouts of individual workers, howev ... | 2001 | 11332847 |
| swarm intelligence. a whole new way to think about business. | what do ants and bees have to do with business? a great deal, it turns out. individually, social insects are only minimally intelligent, and their work together is largely self-organized and unsupervised. yet collectively they're capable of finding highly efficient solutions to difficult problems and can adapt automatically to changing environments. over the past 20 years, the authors and other researchers have developed rigorous mathematical models to describe this phenomenon, which has been du ... | 2001 | 11345907 |
| dufour glands in the hymenopterans (apidae, formicidae, vespidae): a review. | associated to the sting apparatus of the aculeate hymenopterans is found the poison gland, originated from the glands associated to the ovipositor of the non-aculeate hymenopterans and the less derived dufour gland, homologue of the coletterial gland of other insects, and found in all hymenopteran females. the dufour gland functions is mostly uncertain in hymenopterans but in ants it is involved with communication and defense and in non social bees with the nest building and protection. in wasps ... | 2001 | 11340467 |
| do insects use templates or parameters for landmark navigation? | as an explanation for the landmark navigation abilities of insects, the template hypothesis is currently clearly dominating the parameter hypothesis. in a series of computer simulations, this paper investigates the conspicuous behavior of desert ants in experimental setups with expanded landmark arrays. it is shown that a parameter-based model accounts much better for the data than different template models. | 2001 | 11343429 |
| [parasitology and entomology in the 29th century in latin american narrative]. | in the present review of twelve pieces produced by distinguished 20th century latin american writers--jorge luis borges from argentina, jorge amado and joão ubaldo ribeiro from brazil, josé donoso from chile, gabriel garcía márquez from colombia, alejo carpentier from cuba, miguel angel asturias from guatemala, octavio paz from mexico, mario vargas llosa from perú, horacio quiroga and mario benedetti from uruguay and arturo uslar-pietri from venezuela--paragraphs or parts of paragraphs in which ... | 2000 | 11338977 |
| biomechanics of the movable pretarsal adhesive organ in ants and bees. | hymenoptera attach to smooth surfaces with a flexible pad, the arolium, between the claws. here we investigate its movement in asian weaver ants (oecophylla smaragdina) and honeybees (apis mellifera). when ants run upside down on a smooth surface, the arolium is unfolded and folded back with each step. its extension is strictly coupled with the retraction of the claws. experimental pull on the claw-flexor tendon revealed that the claw-flexor muscle not only retracts the claws, but also moves the ... | 2001 | 11353847 |
| the effects of food presentation and microhabitat upon resource monopoly in a ground-foraging ant (hymenoptera: formicidae) community. | in neotropical wet forests several species of omnivorous, resource-defending ants, live and forage in close proximity to one another. although the forest floor is heterogeneous in microhabitat and food quantity, little is known about the impact of microhabitat and food variation upon resource monopoly among ants. we investigated how food type and microhabitat influence food monopoly in resource-defending ants in old-growth tropical wet forest in the caribbean lowlands of costa rica. we measured ... | 2000 | 11354970 |
| weeding and grooming of pathogens in agriculture by ants. | the ancient mutualism between fungus-growing ants and the fungi they cultivate for food is a textbook example of symbiosis. fungus-growing ants' ability to cultivate fungi depends on protection of the garden from the aggressive microbes associated with the substrate added to the garden as well as from the specialized virulent garden parasite escovopsis. we examined ants' ability to remove alien microbes physically by infecting atta colombica gardens with the generalist pathogen trichoderma virid ... | 2001 | 11375087 |
| coevolution in host-parasite systems: behavioural strategies of slave-making ants and their hosts. | recently, avian brood parasites and their hosts have emerged as model systems for the study of host-parasite coevolution. however, empirical studies of the highly analogous social parasites, which use the workers of another eusocial species to raise their own young, have never explicitly examined the dynamics of these systems from a coevolutionary perspective. here, we demonstrate interpopulational variation in behavioural interactions between a socially parasitic slave-maker ant and its host th ... | 2001 | 11375101 |
| fungus-growing ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) on santa catarina island, brazil: patterns of occurrence. | a taxonomic survey on fungus-growing ants (attini) was made at 14 beaches on santa catarina island (sc), brazil. the samplings were manual, in soil or litterfall, in the following habitats: sandy beach, herbaceous vegetation and shrubby vegetation. from 12 species of attini (ten of acromyrmex mayr and two of cyphomyrmex mayr), the most frequent were cyphomyrmex morschi emery and acromyrmex crassispinus forel, collected, respectively, on eight and ten of the monitored beaches. altogether, sorense ... | 2000 | 11354971 |
| chemical intra-mediterranean variation and insecticidal activity of crithmum maritimum. | the chemical composition of the volatile metabolites of crithmum maritimum harvested from several geographic localities along the mediterranean coasts was studied by gc and gc-msd. the major oil constituents were found to be dillapiole, gamma-terpinene, sabinene, limonene and beta-phellandrene. the western populations were richer in dillapiole, whereas the southern collections were characterized by increased amounts of thymol methyl ether and gamma-terpinene. the italian chemical profiles differ ... | 2001 | 11371010 |
| functional ultrastructure of the midgut of the fire ant solenopsis saevissima forel 1904 (formicidae: myrmicinae). | solenopsis saevissima has a midgut composed of columnar, regenerative, and goblet cells. the midgut epithelium was covered by a basal lamina. outside the basal lamina, layers of inner oblique, circular, and outer longitudinal muscles were present. columnar cells showed a basal plasma membrane containing numerous folds, mitochondria, and the nucleus. rough endoplasmic reticulum, golgi bodies, membrane bounded vacuoles, and spherocrystals were found in this region. the apical plasma membrane was c ... | 2001 | 11368267 |
| mandibular gland chemistry of grass-cutting ants: species, caste, and colony variation. | the compositions of the alarm pheromones of two species of grass-cutting ant, atta bisphaerica and a. capiguara, were examined, and caste and colony variations quantified. the pheromones of a. bisphaerica and a. capiguara were remarkably similar and were composed of a complex mixture of volatiles in which 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 2-heptanone were the most abundant compounds. small but consistent intraspecific differences were found between the worker castes and between individual colonies. the r ... | 2001 | 11382057 |
| investigation of different combinations of derivatization, separation methods and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for standard oligosaccharides and glycans from ovalbumin. | derivatization procedures using 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (pmp) and 2-aminonaphthalene trisulfone (ants) were selected among a number of well known methods for labelling carbohydrates. pmp derivatives were selected owing to our laboratory's previous high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (hplc/esi-ms) experience with these, whereas the ants-labelled compounds were prepared for fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (face) separation. ants ... | 2001 | 11391813 |
| individual versus social complexity, with particular reference to ant colonies. | insect societies colonies of ants, bees, wasps and termites--vary enormously in their social complexity. social complexity is a broadly used term that encompasses many individual and colony-level traits and characteristics such as colony size, polymorphism and foraging strategy. a number of earlier studies have considered the relationships among various correlates of social complexity in insect societies; in this review, we build upon those studies by proposing additional correlates and show how ... | 2001 | 11396847 |
| anaphylaxis caused by the new ant, pachycondyla chinensis: demonstration of specific ige and ige-binding components. | there have been no reports dealing with the pathogenic mechanism and ige-binding components in patients with anaphylaxis caused by a sting from pachycondyla chinensis. | 2001 | 11398091 |
| the guidance of desert ants by extended landmarks. | desert ants (cataglyphis fortis) were trained to follow a fixed route around a barrier to a feeder. their homeward trajectories were recorded on a test field containing a similar barrier, oriented either as in training or rotated through 22 or 45 . under one set of experimental conditions, the homeward trajectories rotated with the orientation of the barrier, implying that the visual features of this extended landmark can determine the route independently of compass cues: the barrier provided a ... | 2001 | 11398752 |
| molecular analysis of phylogenetic relationships among myrmecophytic macaranga species (euphorbiaceae). | many species of the paleotropical pioneer tree genus macaranga thou. (euphorbiaceae) live in association with ants. various types of mutualistic interactions exist, ranging from the attraction of unspecific ant visitors to obligate myrmecophytism. in the latter, nesting space and food bodies are exchanged for protection by highly specific ant partners (mainly species of the myrmicine genus crematogaster). as a first step toward elucidating the coevolution of ant-plant interactions in the macaran ... | 2001 | 11399144 |
| mandibular gland chemistry of four caribbean species of camponotus (hymenoptera: formicidae). | the volatile components of whole-body extracts of males, females and workers were analyzed in four species of neotropical ants in the formicine genus, camponotus. the species, c. kaura, c. sexguttatus, c. ramulorum and c. planatus, represent three different subgenera. volatile mandibular gland components were found only in male extracts in three of the species. in c. ramulorum, volatile components were found in male and female reproductives and workers. 3,4-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methylpyran-4- ... | 2001 | 11399355 |
| ants are deaf. | | 2001 | 11425153 |
| the origin of the attine ant-fungus mutualism. | cultivation of fungus for food originated about 45-65 million years ago in the ancestor of fungus-growing ants (formicidae, tribe attini), representing an evolutionary transition from the life of a hunter-gatherer of arthropod prey, nectar, and other plant juices, to the life of a farmer subsisting on cultivated fungi. seven hypotheses have been suggested for the origin of attine fungiculture, each differing with respect to the substrate used by the ancestral attine ants for fungal cultivation. ... | 2001 | 11409051 |
| a comparison of pitfall traps with bait traps for studying leaf litter ant communities. | a comparison of pitfall traps with bait traps for sampling leaf litter ants was studied in oak-dominated mixed forests during 1995-1997. a total of 31,732 ants were collected from pitfall traps and 54,694 ants were collected from bait traps. they belonged to four subfamilies, 17 genera, and 32 species. bait traps caught 29 species, whereas pitfall traps caught 31 species. bait traps attracted one species not found in pitfall traps, but missed three of the species collected with pitfall traps. co ... | 2001 | 11425034 |
| integrative study on chromosome evolution of mammals, ants and wasps based on the minimum interaction theory. | there is well-known evidence that in many eukaryotes, different species have different karyotypes (e.g. n=1-47 in ants and n=3-51 in mammals). alternative (fusion and fission) hypotheses have been proposed to interpret this chromosomal diversity. although the former has long been accepted, accumulating molecular genetics evidence seems to support the latter. we investigated this problem from a stochastic viewpoint using the monte carlo simulation method under the minimum interaction theory. we f ... | 2001 | 11403567 |
| quantification of insect nitrogen utilization by the venus fly trap dionaea muscipula catching prey with highly variable isotope signatures. | dionaea is a highly specialized carnivorous plant species with a unique mechanism for insect capture. the leaf is converted into an osmotically driven trap that closes when an insect triggers sensory trichomes. this study investigates the significance of insect capture for growth of dionaea at different successional stages after a fire, under conditions where the prey is highly variable in its isotope signature. the contribution of insect-derived nitrogen (n) was estimated using the natural abun ... | 2001 | 11432920 |
| structural infestations by imported fire ants: a survey with health implications. | this study provides the first baseline estimate of the impact of indoor ifa infestations in all 46 counties of our state. clinicians need to be alert to the threat of unprovoked stings and possible anaphylaxis among disabled or confined patients in a variety of indoor settings. | 2001 | 11434109 |
| hydrocarbon-released nestmate aggression in the argentine ant, linepithema humile, following encounters with insect prey. | argentine ants, linepithema humile, were attacked by their nestmates following contact with a particular prey item, the brown-banded cockroach, supella longipalpa. contact with prey, as brief as 2 min, provoked nestmate aggression. argentine ants contaminated with hydrocarbons extracted from s. longipalpa also released nestmate aggression behavior similar to that released by the whole prey item, confirming the involvement of hydrocarbons. in contrast to s. longipalpa, little or no nestmate aggre ... | 2001 | 11435142 |
| a preliminary study of forensic entomology in medellín, colombia. | this is the first report of an ongoing study of insect succession on carrion carried out in medellín, colombia, using pigs (sus scrofa) as a model to determine the insect sequence over 207 days. during this period, 2314 insects belonging to the following orders and families were collected: diptera: calliphoridae, muscidae, piophilidae, sarcophagidae, syrphidae, otitidae; hymenoptera: apidae, formicidae, halictidae, mutilidae, vespidae; coleoptera: staphylinidae, histeridae, carabidae, scarabaeid ... | 2001 | 11457610 |
| homing in wood ants, formica japonica: use of the skyline panorama. | homeward orientation was studied in wood ants formica japonica that, while foraging, shuttled back and forth along a 7.9m route between the nest and a feeding site located on a wide terrace platform surrounded by a conspicuous landmark panorama. the return runs of the ants were amazingly straight, not only in the controls (starting at the feeding site) but also in ants displaced for various distances to the left and right of the feeding site. these courses, however, were oriented neither paralle ... | 2001 | 11441048 |
| trade-offs in antiherbivore defenses in piper cenocladum: ant mutualists versus plant secondary metabolites. | ant-plant mutualisms may provide indirect evidence for costs of antiherbivore defenses when plants demonstrate trade-offs between allocating resources and energy into ant attractants versus chemical defenses. we tested the hypothesis that ecological trade-offs in defenses are present in piper cenocladum. this plant possesses two distinct defenses: food bodies that attract predatory ants that destroy herbivore eggs and amides that deter herbivores. previous studies have demonstrated that the food ... | 2001 | 11441447 |
| a brief history of forensic entomology. | apart from an early case report from china (13th century) and later artistic contributions, the first observations on insects and other arthropods as forensic indicators were documented in germany and france during mass exhumations in the late 1880s by reinhard and hofmann, whom we propose recognizing as co-founders of the discipline. after the french publication of mégnin's popular book on the applied aspects of forensic entomology, the concept quickly spread to canada and the us. at the time, ... | 2001 | 11457602 |
| ant odometry in the third dimension. | desert ants (cataglyphis) are renowned for their ability to perform large-scale foraging excursions and then return to the nest by path integration. they do so by integrating courses steered and the distances travelled into a continually updated home vector. whereas the angular orientation is based on skylight cues, how the ants gauge the distances travelled has remained largely unclear. furthermore, almost all studies on path integration in cataglyphis, as well as in spiders, rodents, and human ... | 2001 | 11459057 |
| toxicity of synthetic piperonyl compounds to leaf-cutting ants and their symbiotic fungus. | the development of leucoagaricus gongylophorus, the fungus cultured by the leaf-cutting ant atta sexdens was inhibited in vitro by synthetic compounds containing the piperonyl group. in addition, worker ants that were fed daily on an artificial diet to which these compounds were added had a higher mortality rate than the controls. the inhibition of the fungal growth increased with the size of the carbon side chain ranging from c1 through c8 and decreasing thereafter. 1-(3,4-methylenedioxybenzylo ... | 2001 | 11464791 |
| species-specific bird functions in a forest-canopy food web. | bird functions in a forest-canopy food web were evaluated by a large-scale field experiment using 'canopy' enclosures. by controlling the presence of two bird species, great tits (parus major; foliage gleaner) and nuthatches (sitta europaea; trunk gleaner), in the enclosures, their effect on predatory insects (ants), herbivorous insects (lepidoptera larvae) and producers (oak trees) was quantified. great tits reduced the density of lepidoptera larvae and, indirectly, leaf damage, but had no impa ... | 2000 | 11467421 |
| segregation of colony odor in the desert ant cataglyphis niger. | there are two separate, and presumably opposing, processes that affect colony odor in the desert ant cataglyphis niger: (1) biosynthesis and turnover of these chemicals by individual ants, and (2) homogenization of colony odor through exchange of cues. the first increases signal variability; the latter decreases it. the impact of these factors was tested by splitting colonies and monitoring the profile changes occurring in the postpharyngeal glands (ppg) and cuticular hydrocarbons. from each of ... | 2001 | 11471945 |
| absolute configuration of anabasine from messor and aphaenogaster ants. | a method has been developed to assign the absolute configuration and enantiomeric excess of anabasine based on small amounts of material (in the microgram range), by derivatization with (+)-menthylchloroformate followed by capillary gc analysis of the resulting carbamate(s). this method was applied to three samples of anabasine isolated from messor and aphaenogaster ants. in messor sanctus, only (2's)-anabasine was present, whereas in aphaenogaster subterranea and a. miamiana (2's)-anabasine was ... | 2001 | 11471946 |
| appropriate and inappropriate use of immunotherapy. | the primary objective of this review is to discuss indications for appropriate and inappropriate use of allergen immunotherapy (it), including discussion of contraindications, adverse events, and alternative protocols and methods. | 2001 | 11476478 |
| the influence of the physical environment on the self-organised foraging patterns of ants. | among social insects such as ants, scouts that modulate their recruiting behaviour, following simple rules based on local information, generate collective patterns of foraging. here we demonstrate that features of the abiotic environment, specifically the foraging substrate, may also be influential in the emergence of group-level decisions such as the choice of one foraging path. experimental data and theoretical analyses show that the collective patterns can arise independently of behavioural c ... | 2001 | 11480704 |
| chemical profiles, division of labor and social status in pachycondyla queens (hymenoptera: formicidae). | queens of the neotropical ponerine ant pachycondyla cf. 'inversa' may co-operate during colony founding. one of several co-founding queens specializes in foraging, whereas the others remain in the nest and guard the brood. division of labor is achieved by aggressive interactions, which result in the formation of dominance hierarchies. gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of cuticular hydrocarbons obtained from live queens by spme revealed consistent differences between the patterns of cuticu ... | 2001 | 11480705 |
| expression of yellow jacket and wasp venom ag5 allergens in bacteria and in yeast. | antigen 5 (ag5), of unknown biological function, is one of the major venom allergens of vespids and fire ants. we have compared the expression of ag5 in bacteria and in yeast. recombinant ag5 from bacteria formed an insoluble intracellular product, which was not properly folded, but that produced in pichia pastoris was secreted to the extracellular medium. immunochemical characterizations showed the secreted ag5 to have the native structure of the natural protein. this is of interest since the b ... | 1999 | 11487873 |
| forager size of the leaf-cutting ant atta sexdens (hymenoptera: formicidae) in a mature eucalyptus forest in brazil. | we determined the size characteristics of foragers of the leaf-cutting ant atta sexdens in a mature eucalyptus forest in campos dos goytacazes, rio de janeiro state, brazil, at daytime (7:30 to 10:00 hr) and nighttime (19:00 to 23:00 hr). there were no significant differences between daytime and nighttime ant mass (ma), but leaf fragment mass (ml) and burden (b = [ma + ml]/ma), which indicates relative load capacity, were significantly greater at daytime. there was a positive linear relationship ... | 2000 | 11487943 |
| phase transition between disordered and ordered foraging in pharaoh's ants. | the complex collective behavior seen in many insect societies strongly suggests that a minimum number of workers are required for these societies to function effectively. here we investigated the transition between disordered and ordered foraging in the pharaoh's ant. we show that small colonies forage in a disorganized manner, with a transition to organized pheromone-based foraging in larger colonies. we also show that when food sources are difficult to locate through independent searching, thi ... | 2001 | 11493681 |
| secondary effects of the pesticide bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki on chicks of spruce grouse (dendragapus canadensis). | the objective of this study was to determine if application of the biological pesticide bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (b.t.k.) had secondary effects on spruce grouse (dendragapus canadensis) chicks in the southern boreal forest of ontario, canada. b.t.k. kills larvae of lepidoptera that might otherwise be food. this may affect types of food ingested and influence chick growth rates by reducing the availability of a high-protein food. amount of ingested grit, which is diet-dependent, may also b ... | 2001 | 11503075 |
| lack of intraspecific aggression in the ant tetramorium bicarinatum: a chemical hypothesis. | tetramorium bicarinatum (myrmicinae) is an ant species frequently found in tropical and subtropical areas, particularly in africa, southeast asia (japan), and south america (brazil). the species is polygynous, reproduces by budding, and has sterile workers. since the nests are widely distributed in a given area, the problem arises of territorial defense against conspecifics. because not all ants defend territories, we assessed the defensive behavior of t. bicarinatum workers through intraspecifi ... | 2001 | 11504025 |
| arms races and the evolution of big fierce societies. | the causes of biological gigantism have received much attention, but only for individual organisms. what selection pressures might favour the evolution of gigantic societies? here we consider the largest single-queen insect societies, those of the old world army ant dorylus, single colonies of which can have 20 million workers. we propose that colony gigantism in dorylus arises as a result of an arms race and test this prediction by developing a size-structured mathematical model. we use this mo ... | 2001 | 11506686 |
| ammonia chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry in structural determination of alkaloids. ii. tetraponerines from pseudomyrmecine ants. | chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ci-ms/ms) of alkaloids with ammonia reagent gas and collision-activated dissociation as well as ei-ms/ms were applied to the tetraponerine alkaloids in extracts from six pseudomyrmecine ants of the genus tetraponera. the ms/ms techniques along with gas chromatography fourier transform infrared (gc/ftir) spectra allowed identification in two extracts of seven of the eight known tetraponerines. the ei-ms/ms fragmentations proved diagnostic for the ring ... | 2001 | 11507752 |
| the behavior of ants in a maze in response to a change from food motivation to protective motivation. | the ability of myrmica rubra scout ants to modify the foraging habit, formed in a symmetrical multiple-choice maze, in the situation in which the reinforcement (syrup) was replaced with a brood of the same species was studied. when the "test" was performed at the same high level of food motivation of the family as applied during training, the ants were able successfully to transfer to another type of social behavior - transporting of the brood. when the high-level food motivation was replaced wi ... | 2001 | 11508492 |
| [effect of parameters of myrmecochorous syndrome on rates of removal of corydalis cava and pulmonaria obscura by formica polyctena ants]. | complex of adaptations of myrmecochorous plants to the ant dispersal composes so called myrmecochorous syndrome. to study the effect of some morphological and anatomical adaptations on diaspore attractiveness for ants, the field experiments with diaspores and their extracts were carried out. it was shown that chemical cues attracting ants are located in different parts of diaspores: in elaiosome only (c. cava) or in elaiosome, coverage of external layer of the fruit and in the fruit collar (p. o ... | 2001 | 11544770 |
| wind-induced ventilation of the giant nests of the leaf-cutting ant atta vollenweideri. | to understand the significance of elaborate nest architecture for the control of nest climate, we investigated the mechanisms governing nest ventilation in a large field nest of atta vollenweideri. surface wind, drawing air from the central tunnels of the nest mound, was observed to be the main driving force for nest ventilation during summer. this mechanism of wind-induced ventilation has so far not been described for social insect colonies. thermal convection, another possible force driving ve ... | 2001 | 11544898 |
| production of a cyanogenic secretion by a thyridid caterpillar (calindoea trifascialis, thyrididae, lepidoptera). | the thyridid caterpillar, calindoea trifascialis, when disturbed, emits a defensive secretion from two sac-like glands that open dorsolaterally on the first abdominal segment. the larva has two arm-like protuberances that project outward from the body just in front of the gland openings. these "arms", which are wetted by secretion when the larva activates its glands, appear to function specifically for administration of the fluid. a primary component of the secretion in mandelonitrile, a cyanoge ... | 2001 | 11544899 |
| [morphofunctional aspects of the head capsule topography in aculeata (hymenoptera)]. | according to degree of segmental fusion insect head is the most integrated part of the body. head skeleton subdivides into capsule and skeleton of appendages. exo- and endoskeleton (tentorium) of head capsule have complex segmental origin. marked margins are generally absent between such traditionally discriminated capsule parts as clypeus, frons, vertex, occiput, genae, etc. relative position to marked structures (appendages, eyes, ocelli, occipital foramen and etc.) defines the capsule parts, ... | 2001 | 11544773 |
| queen control of sex ratio in fire ants. | the haplodiploid sex-determination system of ants gives rise to conflict between queens and workers over colony sex ratios, and the female-biased allocation ratios seen in many species suggest that workers often prevail in this conflict. we exchanged queens between male- and female-specialist colonies of the fire ant solenopsis invicta. these exchanges quickly reversed the sex-ratio biases of adopting colonies. the sex ratio of queen-laid eggs differed strongly between male- and female-specialis ... | 2001 | 11509728 |
| a community of ants, fungi, and bacteria: a multilateral approach to studying symbiosis. | the ancient and highly evolved mutualism between fungus-growing ants and their fungi is a textbook example of symbiosis. the ants carefully tend the fungus, which serves as their main food source, and traditionally are believed to be so successful at fungal cultivation that they are able to maintain the fungus free of microbial pathogens. this assumption is surprising in light of theories on the evolution of parasitism, especially for those species of ants that have been clonally propagating the ... | 2001 | 11544360 |
| changes in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of the slave-maker ant queen, polyergus breviceps emery, after killing a formica host queen (hymenoptera: formicidae). | queens of the slave-maker ant, polyergus breviceps, take over nests of their formica host species by fatally attacking the resident queen. as workers only begin grooming the p. breviceps queen once she has ceased her attack, we investigated whether a change in parasite queen chemistry may account for the change in worker behavior. cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of newly mated p. breviceps queens and of queens of their two formica host species were found to be species-specific. profiles of newly ... | 2001 | 11545371 |
| task-related environment alters the cuticular hydrocarbon composition of harvester ants. | within a colony of harvester ants (pogonomyrmex barbatus), workers in different task groups differ in the hydrocarbon composition of the cuticle. foragers and patrollers, which spend extended periods of time outside the nest, have a higher proportion of saturated, unbranched hydrocarbons (n-alkanes) on the cuticle than nest maintenance workers, which spend only short periods of time outside the nest. we tested whether these task-related differences in ant cuticular chemistry arise from exposure ... | 2001 | 11545372 |
| adaptations to biotic and abiotic stress: macaranga-ant plants optimize investment in biotic defence. | obligate ant plants (myrmecophytes) in the genus macaranga produce energy- and nutrient-rich food bodies (fbs) to nourish mutualistic ants which live inside the plants. these defend their host against biotic stress caused by herbivores and pathogens. facultative, 'myrmecophilic' interactions are based on the provision of fbs and/or extrafloral nectar (efn) to defending insects that are attracted from the vicinity. fb production by the myrmecophyte, m. triloba, was limited by soil nutrient conten ... | 2001 | 11559742 |
| ants and agents: a process algebra approach to modelling ant colony behaviour. | process algebras are widely used in the analysis of distributed computer systems. they allow formal reasoning about how the various components of a system contribute to its overall behaviour. in this paper we show how process algebras can be usefully applied to understanding social insect biology, in particular to studying the relationship between algorithmic behaviour of individual insects and the dynamical behaviour of their colony. we argue that process algebras provide a useful formalism for ... | 2001 | 11565411 |
| facultative and obligate slave making in formica ants. | here we show for the first time that the presumed facultative slave-making ant formica subintegra does not activate outside its nest until july and august, when it raids slaves. a comparative behavioral study of seasonal and daily activities, retrieval of prey, and nest maintenance of f. subintegra, the obligate slavemaker polyergus breviceps, and the facultative formica subnuda, shows that the behavioral repertory of f. subintegra closely resembles that of p. breviceps and clearly differs from ... | 2001 | 11572017 |
| qualitative and quantitative differences in cuticular hydrocarbons between laboratory and field colonies of pogonomyrmex barbatus. | ants held in the laboratory and field ants of the species pogonomyrmex barbatus have quantitative differences in their cuticular hydrocarbons and a qualitative difference in their methyl-branched hydrocarbons. laboratory-held workers showed twice the hydrocarbon content as field ants. this difference was mainly due to higher amounts of straight-chain alkanes and methyl-branched alkanes in laboratory ants, whereas the proportion of the alkenes remained the same for both groups. in addition to the ... | 2001 | 11567897 |
| evolution of myrmecophytism in western malesian macaranga (euphorbiaceae). | plants inhabited by ants (myrmecophytes) have evolved in a diversity of tropical plant lineages. macaranga includes approximately 300 paleotropical tree species; in western malesia there are 26 myrmecophytic species that vary in morphological specializations for ant association. the origin and diversification of myrmecophytism in macaranga was investigated using phylogenetic analyses of morphological and nuclear its dna characters and studies of character evolution. despite low its variation, th ... | 2001 | 11580014 |
| seasonal patterns in the orientation system of the migratory ant pachycondyla marginata. | route directions of migrations by the neotropical termite-hunting ant pachycondyla marginata at a forest reserve in southeast brazil were analysed by circular statistic. colony movement patterns were compared between the rainy/hot and dry/cold seasons. migrations during the dry/cold season are significantly oriented 13 degrees with the magnetic north-south axis, while rainy/hot migrations do not exhibit a preferred direction. this result is discussed considering the hypothesis that p. marginata ... | 2001 | 11572016 |
| inhibition of neurogenic inflammation by the amazonian herbal medicine sangre de grado. | this study was designed to determine if the amazonian medicinal sangre de grado, confers benefit by suppressing the activation of sensory afferent nerves. methods: (i) vasorelaxation of rat mesenteric arteries in response to calcitonin gene-related peptide; (ii) rat paw edema in response to protease- activating peptide receptor 2-activating peptide; (iii) rat paw hyperalgesia in response to low-dose protease-activating peptide receptor 2-activating peptide or prostaglandin e2; (iv) gastric hyper ... | 2001 | 11564183 |
| prudent protomognathus and despotic leptothorax duloticus: differential costs of ant slavery. | the concept of ant slavery rests on the untested assumption that slave-making ants impose fitness costs on colonies of the species they raid. we tested that assumption by comparing the summertime seasonal productivity of leptothorax spp. colonies in field exclosures without slavemakers, with a colony of the obligatory slave-making ant protomognathus americanus, or with a colony of the obligatory slavemaker leptothorax duloticus. leptothorax longispinosus colonies placed in exclosures with p. ame ... | 2001 | 11572933 |
| circumvention of prey defense by a predator: ant lion vs. ant. | the pit-dwelling ant lion myrmeleon carolinus, although topically sensitive to formic acid, is able to prey on formic acid-spraying ants (camponotus floridanus). it kills the ants without inducing them to spray, and it sucks out the ant's body contents without puncturing the acid sac. ordinarily, when camponotus is attacked it retaliates by simultaneously biting and spraying, but it usually refrains from spraying until it has secured a grip with the mandibles. when myrmeleon pulls camponotus int ... | 1993 | 11607414 |
| taste-enhancing effects of glycine on the sweetness of glucose: a gustatory aspect of symbiosis between the ant, camponotus japonicus, and the larvae of the lycaenid butterfly, niphanda fusca. | the lycaenid butterfly, niphanda fusca, has a parasitic relationship with its host ant, camponotus japonicus: the caterpillars may use chemical mimicry to enter the ant nest where they are fed mouth-to-mouth by the adult ants until pupation. nevertheless, larvae offer their host ants a nutritious secretion that contains 160 mm glucose and 43 mm glycine. using glucose and glycine mixture as artificial secretions, we investigated the gustatory effect of glucose and/or glycine on the ants. glycine ... | 2001 | 11595675 |
| plant lock and ant key: pairwise coevolution of an exclusion filter in an ant-plant mutualism. | although observations suggest pairwise coevolution in specific ant-plant symbioses, coevolutionary processes have rarely been demonstrated. we report on, what is to the authors' knowledge, the strongest evidence yet for reciprocal adaptation of morphological characters in a species-specific ant-plant mutualism. the plant character is the prostoma, which is a small unlignified organ at the apex of the domatia in which symbiotic ants excavate an entrance hole. each myrmecophyte in the genus leonar ... | 2001 | 11600077 |
| when can ants discriminate the sex of brood? a new aspect of queen-worker conflict. | the stage in preimaginal ontogeny at which the sexes can first be distinguished has important implications for queen-worker conflict in social insects. if workers are unable to sex larvae at an early instar, their opportunity to control colony reproductive strategies may be limited. in addition, by concealing the sex of her sons for some portion of development, the queen could protect them from the workers' attempts to substitute their own sons or to skew the numerical sex ratio. in a series of ... | 1990 | 11607136 |
| fighting for a harem of queens: physiology of reproduction in cardiocondyla male ants. | several species of the ant genus cardiocondyla produce dimorphic males, which exhibit sharply different mating strategies. winged males typically disperse to mate outside the nest, whereas wingless, ergatoid males stay in the nest and aggressively employ their mandibles against competing ergatoid males to monopolize the virgin queens eclosing in the nest. such aggressive mating strategy would only be adaptive if the males had unlimited sperm supply. histological studies showed that, contrary to ... | 1993 | 11607424 |
| reproductive cooperation between queens and their mated workers: the complex life history of an ant with a valuable nest. | the life history of harpegnathos saltator is exceptional among ants because both queens and workers reproduce sexually. recently mated queens start new colonies alone, but later some of the offspring workers also become inseminated and take over the egg-laying role. this alternation seems associated with the existence of very complex underground nests, which are designed to survive floods. longevity of ponerine queens is low (a consequence of limited caste dimorphism in this "primitive" subfamil ... | 1995 | 11607589 |
| social evolution in a new environment: the case of introduced fire ants. | the inadvertent introduction of the fire ant solenopsis invicta to the united states from south america provides the opportunity to study recent social evolution by comparing social organization in native and introduced populations. we report that several important elements of social organization in multiple-queen nests differ consistently and dramatically between ants in argentina and the united states. colonies in argentina contain relatively few queens and they are close relatives, whereas co ... | 1996 | 11607647 |
| "ants, muskeetoes, flies and stinking chints": the british battle against disease in india. | | 1964 | 11615203 |
| [juliusz august roger (1819-1865) a physician, welfare worker, humanist, naturalist]. | a biography of juliusz roger a physician, humanist and a naturalist is presented. doctor roger, who was of german origin, spent most of his life in silesia where he become known as a physician, social activist and a german enthusiast of the polish folklore in the area. in the 1863 he published the songs and music of the polish people in upper silesia. he was also valued entomologist who wrote several works on beetles and ants. as a physician roger helped to reorganize and extend hospitals at rud ... | 1994 | 11624928 |
| insecticidal activity of essential oils: octopaminergic sites of action. | a study was conducted to determine the insecticidal activity and mechanism of action of three essential oils (eugenol, alpha-terpineol and cinnamic alcohol) and an equal part mixture (3-blend) against american cockroaches (periplaneta americana). to address species differences in response to treatment with the test oils, carpenter ants (camponotus pennsylvanicus de geer), and german cockroaches (blattella germanica) were included in this study. exposed american cockroaches demonstrated hyperacti ... | 2001 | 11701389 |
| [distantly received pheromone-primer controls cessation of diapause in the ant myrmica rubra l. (hymenoptera, formicidae)]. | | 2001 | 11642158 |